SubcriticalWater – a Perspective ReactionMedia for Biomass Processing to Chemicals: Study on Cellulose Conversion as aModel for Biomass

Biomass and water are recognized as a key renewable feedstock in sustainable production of chemicals, fuels and energy. Subcritical water (SubCW), or commonly referred as hot compressed water (HCW), is the water above boiling and below critical point (CP; 374 °C, 22.1 MPa). It has gained great attention in the last few decades as a green, cheap, and nontoxic reagent for conversion of biomass into valuable chemicals. In this paper, hydrothermal reactions of cellulose, as the model biomass substance, with subcritical water at mild temperature and pressure regimes have been studied. The experiments were done in a batch reactor in the temperature range of 220 ° – 300 °C. The main products distributed in liquid, gaseous and solid phase were separated and quantified. The conversions to each group of products were found strongly dependent on the temperature and residence time

Which game are you playing? - An interactive and educational video show

Project “Which game are you playing?” is an interactive video show, which has an educational purpose. Video records projected on the three walls are swapped according to where a person has sat down, in other words, according to a person’s »ego« role: child, parent or adult. Videos show conflicts among young people and their resolution according to the person's »ego« role. We made the project with two programs: Smart Wall and vvvv. For the realization of this project we need two computers, which are connected with an ethernet cable, two cameras, one placed on the ceiling and the other in front of the »ego« chairs, and three projectors

Parental Quality of Life in the Framework of Paediatric Chronic Gastrointestinal Disease

Chronic gastrointestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and celiac disease (CD), might have impact not only on the affected child but also on their parents since inside the family framework, a change in each member may have influence on the whole system. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that parents whose children have IBD or CD will have a lower quality of life (QoL) compared to parents of healthy children, as well as that lower QoL will be found among parents who perceive lower health related quality of life (HRQOL) of their child. 55 parents of children with IBD, 49 of CD and 53 parents of healthy children were included in the study. Children were aged 7–18 years. In order to measure parental QoL, a Croatian version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was administered, with four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationship and environment. The Total QoL was calculated as a sum of all domain items. The parent-proxy report of children’s HRQOL, PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales was used.Main result shows that parents of children with IBD report a significantly lower psychological health, compared to parents of other children, and significantly lower physical health compared to parents of healthy children. Among parents of children with CD and parents of healthy children, better parental Total QoL was significantly correlated with better parental report of children’s HRQOL, while for parents of children with IBD those associations were not found. Results of study show association between presence of the disease in offspring with poorer parental QoL, thus highlight the importance of supporting not only children with chronic disease but also involving their parents in psychosocial interventions, as well as supporting the patient’s association groups which gather both children with chronic disease and their parents

Timing and Virtual Observability in Ultimatum Bargaining and "Weak Link" Coordination Games

Previous studies have shown that simply knowing one player moves first can affect behavior in games, even when the first-mover's moves are known to be unobservable. This observation violates the game-theoretic principle that timing of unobserved moves is irrelevant, but is consistent with virtual observability, a theory of how timing can matter without the ability to observe actions. However, this previous research only shows that timing matters in games where knowledge that one player moved first can help select that player's preferred equilibrium, presenting an alternative explanation to virtual observability. We extend this work by varying timing of unobservable moves in ultimatum bargaining games and “weak link” coordination games. In the latter, the equilibrium selection explanation does not predict any change in behavior due to timing differences. We find that timing without observability affects behavior in both games, but not substantially

Finite Conductivity in Mesoscopic Hall Bars of Inverted InAs/GaSb Quantum Wells

We have studied experimentally the low temperature conductivity of mesoscopic size InAs/GaSb quantum well Hall bar devices in the inverted regime. Using a pair of electrostatic gates we were able to move the Fermi level into the electron-hole hybridization state, and observe a mini gap. Temperature dependence of the conductivity in the gap shows residual conductivity, which can be consistently explained by the contributions from the free as well as the hybridized carriers in the presence of impurity scattering, as proposed by Naveh and Laikhtman [Euro. Phys. Lett., 55, 545-551 (2001)]. Experimental implications for the stability of proposed helical edge states will be discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Factors Influencing Vocabulary Learning Strategy Preferences

Vocabulary is a significant factor in learning a second language. Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) have become an area of current interest in language teaching, learning and research. Throughout history many researchers and applied linguists have looked at various factors, such as gender, level of education, etc. that might influence learners’ choices of VLS. However, the question what exactly influences learners’ choice and frequency of use of certain VLS and certain types of VLS still remains open. The overall aim of this research was to explore which type of VLS learners use most frequently and whether any of the factors such as gender, level of education, years of learning English as a foreign language or learners’ individual preferences and perceptions influenced this. The sample consisted of 320 learners of both elementary and high-school learners of English as a foreign language. The participants filled out the Croatian version of the VOLSQES questionnaire which measured learners’ preferences regarding VLS use, as well as a demographic questionnaire which provided information about learners’ preferences, and perceptions regarding certain aspects of English. The results of the analyses revealed certain differences between learners’ perception of difficulty of English and their choice of incidental type of VLS, as well as some positive and negative relationships between learners’ preferences and perceptions, and years of learning English and their choice of certain types of VLS. This indicates that some differences and relationships do indeed exist, but that further investigation is required

Evidence for Helical Edge Modes in Inverted InAs/GaSb Quantum Wells

We present an experimental study of low temperature electronic transport in the hybridization gap of inverted InAs/GaSb composite quantum wells. Electrostatic gate is used to push the Fermi level into the gap regime, where the conductance as a function of sample length and width is measured. Our analysis shows strong evidence for the existence of helical edge modes proposed by Liu et al [Phys. Rev. Lett., 100, 236601 (2008)]. Edge modes persist inspite of sizable bulk conduction and show only a weak magnetic field dependence - a direct consequence of gap opening away from zone center.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Perfect Andreev Reflection of Helical Edge Modes in InAs/GaSb Quantum Wells

We present an experimental study of inverted InAs/GaSb composite quantum wells in the hybridization regime and contacted by superconducting electrodes. A front gate is used to vary the Fermi level into the mini-gap, where recent experiments indicate existence of helical edge modes [arXiv:1105.0137]. Zero bias dips in differential resistance are observed across the mini-gap, suggesting transport dominated by Andreev reflection processes. Evolution of the mini-gap differential resistance with applied bias as well as measured mini-gap excess current of 150 nA are in good agreement with the prediction of perfect Andreev reflection of the helical edge modes, which is necessitated by the absence of back-scattering channels. The perfect Andreev reflection occurs in spite of a finite barrier at the interface and shows strong sensitivity to time-reversal breaking - hallmarks of the helical nature of quantum spin Hall edges

RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN – INDEED A NEW PERSONAL RIGHT IN DIGITAL EU MARKET?

The article analyses the judgment in case Google Spain, C-131/12, in which the Court of justice of the EU (CJEU) decided that search engines do bear certain part of a responsibility to protect privacy, although that they are not the author of certain information, nor they change the substance of such an information. The sole argument that they help searching certain information is, for the CJEU, enough to nclude them in the circle of persons, who are not without responsibility regarding different internet services. The decision has huge effects and as it is seen from the literature, much bigger and more comprehensive than the CJEU wanted. The article argues that this decision does not mean (not yet) a right to be forgotten as it could be understood from the outset. Namely, certain information, which somebody wanted to have removed, is still there, somewhere in the internet, just we cannot fi nd it any more (unless we know the internet address or other criteria, not the name, which could help us find it)